Psychologist Adam Grant’s research has demonstrated that givers in the workplace have achieved extraordinary successes across industries. In his book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, he shares how giving boosts networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation and leadership skills among others. His research has shown that givers succeed in ways that lift others up.

So what does this mean for you and your workplace? Well you can boost your happiness at work by becoming a giver. This is also very likely to boost your performance at work and lead to more successes. And most importantly, becoming a giver will boost the wellbeing and performance of those around you too! Here are some ideas to get you started on your giving journey.

Boosting Happiness at Work by Giving

1. Step up to share your knowledge when you can.
2. Introduce people who might benefit from knowing each other.
3. Provide mentoring to new starters or interns.
4. Offer support when your colleagues need it, at work or outside work.
5. Volunteer for tasks that are important but invisible.
6. Promote wellbeing at work and educate your team about it.
7. Give someone a hug when it looks like they need it.
8. Appreciate your colleagues by giving them thanks in unexpected moments.
9. Give your time to someone who needs someone to simply listen to them.
10. Offer to get tea/coffee/juice for your team – and start a tradition so every day someone else in the team will offer to do this!

You can see an exceptional example of giving in the short inspirational video below. Be prepared to be blown away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s22HX18wDY

Now I would love to see your ideas for giving to boost your and your colleagues’ happiness at work. Comment below with what way you will be giving this week! I’m excited to hear what you come up with… :)

If you liked this post, please share it, like it, tweet it, pin it – I really appreciate it! Let’s help as many people as possible to find happiness and success at work by becoming a giver. You might also like to read 10 random acts of kindness for inspiration.

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Enjoy your adventures & until next week!

Happy Regards,

Susanna

These are my favourite quotes from the event which encourage you to see things differently, to make things happen and to shake things up. Overall, they remind you to appreciate your life and your skills, and encourage you to make the most out of them. When you do this, you will be able to live a happier, more fulfilling life.

Which of these quotes is your favourite and why? I would love to hear from you in the comments below and discuss more!

If you liked this post, please do share it, like it, tweet it, pin it – I really appreciate it! Help as many people as you can to get new perspectives on life to boost their happiness!

If you haven’t signed up to my newsletter yet, sign-up above the orange button on the left to get extra happiness tips delivered weekly to your inbox FOR FREE!

Enjoy your adventures & until next week!

Happy Regards,

Susanna

Photo by Paul Joseph (sashafatcat on flickr)

Get Rid of Boredom Now

1. Inject novelty into something old. Beat boredom by introducing new ways of doing things.

   For example, schedule a weekly date night with your spouse and pretend that you’re on a first date. Research has shown couples who were asked to interact as if they were strangers experienced higher levels of joy. And make sure to keep the date night fresh – from dinners to dancing to listening to new bands and more.

   Another example is to eat popcorn in the movies with your non-dominant hand (i.e. if you’re right handed eat with your left hand). This study showed that people were more likely to savour the popcorn and keep eating it only if it was fresh and delicious (the stale popcorn was left uneaten).

2. Take a break from something you really enjoy. This is aligned with the common saying, “less is more”. When you introduce scarcity to something you enjoy, you are much more likely to savour it when it does come around.

   For example, switch your afternoon latte to a normal black coffee and only order the latte on Friday afternoons or after a small success at work. You will now enjoy it on a completely different level and appreciate it more.

   Another example is to take a break from one of your hobbies for a month or so. You will come back to it completely refreshed, energised and more motivated to pursue it. This has certainly worked for me when it comes to taking occasional breaks from horse riding.

These tips are from an educational, inspirational & fun read: Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton. Stay tuned for a post on happy spending in the near future!

If you enjoyed this post, please share it, like it, tweet it, pin it – your friends and loved ones will be thrilled to learn how to get rid of their boredom!

Don’t forget to sign-up to your free weekly happiness newsletter on the orange icon on the left to be the first to find out about new blog posts and get some extra happiness tips!

Good luck in your adventures & until next week!

Happy Regards,

Susanna

Life Lessons from a 90 Year Old

1. Surround yourself with the people you love. Stay social.
2. Keep your mind active. Read and continue to learn new things, no matter the age.
3. Focus on the good things in life. Don’t worry about things you can’t change. It’s silly.
4. Eat small portions of food and often. Breakfast is most important so eat something nutritious and healthy, like porridge. She still eats porridge every morning.
5. Stay active. Even at 90 years old, she still goes for her daily walks.

I’m sure in the years to come I’ll continue to learn more life wisdoms from her. I’m so proud of her and honoured to be her grandchild!

Which of these tips is your favourite and how could you put it into practice in your life better? Please comment below with your plan, I’d love to hear it and help you act on it!

If this enjoyed this post, please share it, like it, tweet it, pin it – and spread this amazing wisdom from a 90 year old so your loved ones can learn this now!

Don’t forget to sign-up to the free weekly Happyologist newsletter on the left to get a happy fix delivered straight to your inbox.

Good luck in your adventures & until next week!

Happy Regards,

Susanna

Think back on a time when you were enthusiastically working towards your goal, committing to all the actions you needed to take to get there, and doing them when you said you were going to do them. Didn’t that feel great? Didn’t you feel proud of yourself? Now think of a time when you had a goal you wanted to reach but everytime you tried to take a step towards it, you procrastinated, got lazy or simple didn’t do it. How did you feel then? I bet not that great.

Research has shown that the closer you get to reaching your goal, the more motivated you become to work towards it. So what it really takes is to get on the right path from the first step and keeping at it. And this is how you can get super proactive about it to maximise your success.

Heidi Grant Halvorson argues how detailed planning of how you will reach your goal will increase your chances of success by around 300%! Detailed planning is one of the tips she shares in her ultimate productivity and performance guide, Nine Things Successful People Do Differently. This type of “if planning” has the support of over a hundred studies which have shown it makes you twice or three times more likely to achieve your goal. So what’s the “if planning” all about? See Heidi’s 6 simple steps below – and commit to them!

6 Steps to Help You Reach Your Life Goals

1. Pinpoint a crucial action you know you need to take you reach your goal.
2. When and where should you take this action?
3. Write this down somewhere you can see it: If (or when) _______________, then ____________________.
   For example: If it is 7 am on Wednesday, then I will do 20 minutes of Pilates.
4. Next, think about a challenge or something that might stop you from doing this. For example, temptation, distraction, procrastination – whatever factor that could interfere.
5. When that factor intervenes, how will you overcome it? What will you do instead?
6. Again, write this all down: If (or when) ____________, then __________________.
   For example: If I’m feeling tired on Wednesday morning, I will remind myself how doing Pilates will boost my health and energy, and seeing the work out clothes set out already the night before will remind me of this.

Now I want you to have a go at this.

Think of a crucial action you need to take to reach your goal, and write down an if statement (point 3) and an if intervening statement (point 6) for yourself. I want to see them in the comments section below – so that we can cheer each other on!

If you liked this post, please do share it, like it, tweet it, pin it – I really appreciate it! The more you share, the more people you’ll help to reach their goals! :)

If you haven’t signed up to my newsletter yet, sign-up on the left by submitting your email & clicking the orange ”Subscribe now” to get extra happiness tips delivered weekly to your inbox FOR FREE!

Enjoy your adventures & until next week!

Happy Regards,

Susanna